Hello. This is 6 Minute English
from BBC Learning English.
I'm Neil.
And I'm Sam. Many people have
favourites - a favourite
colour, a favourite flavour,
a favourite word.
What's yours, Neil?
Hmm, my favourite colour is
green, my favourite
flavour is sweet-and-sour,
and, well, I don't know
if it's my favourite, but
there is a word I really
like saying out loud -
'nincompoop'. It means
a silly person.
For me, it's the taste
of coffee, and the
smell of lavender, or
freshly baked bread.
Our favourite tastes,
smells and colours
are controlled by our
five senses - sight,
sound, smell, taste,
and touch. For most of
us they don't mix.
We see colours and
taste flavours, but
we can't taste sounds.
But that's not how
everyone's brain works.
Imagine being able to
'taste' every word
that you hear.
In this programme,
we'll meet two sisters
from Glasgow in
Scotland who can do
just that. And as usual,
we'll learn some new
vocabulary as well.
Julie McDowall and her
younger sister, Jen McCready,
have synaesthesia, a
neurological condition
where two or more
senses mix together.
When synesthetes, as
they're called, hear
a word, their sense of
taste also becomes
activated. Words produce
specific tastes on
their tongues.
For example, when Jen
hears the name of
her daughter, Sophia,
she tastes pink
marshmallows! And the
name 'Leo' tastes
like noodles.
We'll hear more from
the unusual sisters
later, but first I have
a question for you,
Neil. We've just heard
what happens when
Jen McCready hears
the names 'Sophia',
and 'Leo', but what
does she taste when
she hears the name
'Neil'? Is It:
a) eggs and bacon?
b) spaghetti hoops? or
c) a jam sandwich?
Well, I don't know
what this says about
me, Sam, but I'm
going to guess that
it's c) a jam sandwich.
OK. Don't worry, Neil -
I'll reveal the answer
later in the programme.
Synaesthesia isn't only
about people, like
Julie and Jen, who
taste words - it can
be a mixing of any of
our senses.
A synesthete may hear
colours or see sounds.
In fact, there could
be as many as 150
different types
of synaesthesia.
For the Scottish sisters
having synaesthesia is
a gift, something Jen
explained when she
talked with BBC World
Service programme,
The Food Chain:
This is enjoyable, it's
never anything that
causes - the only thing
I would say is it's
quite hard if you're
trying to eat
healthily because
if you hear a word
that maybe tastes
like tuna, I'll be like,
'Oh, I need to get a
tune baguette now' ...
You know, it's almost
like being pregnant
and having a craving ...
words can be so vivid
that you want to eat
that - that's the
only negative I
would say about it.
For Jen, the only
drawback to
synaesthesia is that
it can be hard to
eat healthily
because hearing
certain words produces
a craving - a strong
feeling of wanting
a particular food.
That could be because,
for Jen, the sound of
the word is so
vivid - clear, detailed,
and powerful in her mind.
There's still much
doctors don't know
about why some
people experience sense
mixing while most
of us experience each
sense in isolation,
but it's clear that
for Julie and Jen,
synaesthesia makes
the world a more
interesting,
colourful place.
Someone who can
explain why so little
is known about
synaesthesia is Guy
Leschziner, consultant
neurologist at King's
College London, and
author of the book,
'The Man Who Tasted Words'.
Here he is speaking to BBC
World Service's,
The Food Chain:
One of the problems with
synaesthesia is for
many years it's been
dismissed, and it's
been viewed as
people with an
overactive imagination,
something not real
but actually what
research in recent
years has taught us
is that actually it
does have an
underlying neurological
and genetic basis.
Guy says that in the
past, synaesthesia was
often dismissed -
considered unimportant
or uninteresting.
Synesthetes were
labelled people with
overactive imaginations -
a tendency to imagine
things that are
not true.
But research is showing
that the causes of
synaesthesia could
run in the family.
Julie and Jen's brothers
don't have synaesthesia,
but Jen's daughter does.
And with an estimated
4% of the world population
having some form of
sense mixing, a world
of new and exciting
possibilities is opening
up to millions.
Exciting possibilities
like tasting someone's
name... Remember in my
question I asked what
synesthete, Jen McCready,
tastes when she hears
the name 'Neil'.
OK. Well, I guessed
that 'Neil' tastes like
a jam sandwich.
Was I right?
Well, Neil, no - you
don't taste like a jam
sandwich. In fact,
when Jen hears the
name 'Neil', she
tastes spaghetti hoops!
Oh well, it could be
worse - the name
'Robert' makes Jen
taste rotten eggs!
Sorry to any
Roberts listening.
OK, let's recap the
vocabulary we've
learned in this
programme about
synaesthesia - a
neurological condition
where two or more
senses mix together.
A nincompoop is an
informal way of saying
a silly person.
A craving for something
is the strong desire
to have it.
A vivid sensation is
clear, strong and
detailed in your mind.
When something is
dismissed, it's
considered unimportant
or uninteresting.
And finally, an
overactive imagination
is the tendency to
imagine things that
are not true. Once
again, our six minutes
are up! If you've
enjoyed this look
into the weird and
wonderful world of
synaesthesia, we hope
you'll join us again
next time for more
chat, interesting issues
and useful vocabulary
here at 6 Minute English.
Bye for now!
Goodbye!